A Lone Hunter Emerges
by Exalted Nemesis
Summary: Jill, Carlos and the other rebels journey to an 'abandoned' field in search for answers to a recent murder that points to Umbrella. What they find within the surrounding overgrown fields is someone from their past that has been waiting for them.


**Glass Hearts: A Lone Hunter Emerges**

It had been a few weeks since the Winterstone girl escaped from the medical centre outside Bluewater.

To Griffin time did not matter, he had known all the signs of the escape yet did nothing to prevent it, if he had then he wouldn't have been able to move to stage two of his plan. He had even purposely loosened the bounds that held the Nemesis unit still that night. Yet despite all the energy and hours lost trying to search for the girl the sweetest piece of the pie was yet to come.

Echo Team Alpha was just a bunch of rookies with expensive body armour and noisy guns. They hadn't returned from their scan of the area and so another team was sent out to look for them.

What they found was of interest to Griffin, normally he didn't care for the teams that got lost in the dense scrub but what the team had brought back in a black bag had caught his attention.

Even now lying on the slab Griffin could tell that this young man had died horribly. Despite the fact that the body was a few weeks old the freezers allowed it to be still well preserved. There wasn't much of a face left save for the giant 25 centimetre wide hole that had been punched through the centre. Strangely enough the blood had already started to congeal around the 'crater' not that it would matter anymore, the man was dead.

Carefully taking a scalpel in his right gloved hand Griffin scraped what might have been the remains of the young soldier's nose or upper lip onto a small petrii dish and then striding over to a microscope slid the pink bloodied flesh onto a slide.

Griffin smiled when he saw the tiny little microbes swimming through the blood, his suspicions had been confirmed, a creature carrying the T-virus had killed the solider. Not that the large hole through the face had been a dead giveaway, he'd just wanted to be confirmed that this was true. _The Winterstone girl_ he thought _she's able to control the creature to do her bidding_. This was even worse then expected, if such a theory could be true then it would be disastrous.

There had been something between the pair when the unit had finally woken up. After the creature's activation it refused to be separated from the girl and when the end of a month came…

_At least now the place is quiet_ Griffin thought to himself as he began to remove the plastic gloves from his hands. The monster's screams had echoed throughout the facility yet Griffin was under orders to keep the Nemesis unit alive, so he did the only thing possible to keep his sanity.

It had taken ten strong guards to not only drug the creature but also chain it to the wall. It was made worse by the fact that the monster hadn't even been fully sedated and because of that was able to break one man's neck and decapitate another with one of it's razor tentacles. Further injuries occurred when chaining the unit to the wall but Griffin hardly remembered any of that, what he did know was that the monster and the girl had escaped and were still at large.

Walking out of the autopsy room Griffin almost slammed into a jittery lab tech.

The young man was in his late twenties, with freckles on his pale skin and a mop of red hair. He stared back at Griffin swallowing nervously and went to say something but was stopped.

Griffin opened the door to the room, "Clean the table and dispose of the body" As he walked off down the hallway the lab tech shouted out something to Griffin no doubt a ridiculous question, it didn't halt the scientist and he walked even faster then.

The higher levels of the facility were designed to be accommodating to all the higher ups of Umbrella and also the inspectors doing their monthly rounds. The plush red carpet, dull blue coloured walls, large white desk complete with smiling receptionist behind a large purple vase of colourful flowers seemed all too much for Griffin.

As Griffin strode past the desk the receptionist, an older woman in her thirties called out to him. He turned on his heel and faced the woman who almost ran into him, "Yes Daphne what is it?"

Daphne gave Griffin a small piece of white paper that had numbers written down on it, "Inspector Saunders is due to meet you at twelve o' clock but he said he may be a few minutes late and also I let your escort into your office I just hope it wasn't…"

Griffin had no time for Daphne's chat sessions, taking up the stride again he walked past her, Daphne's high nasal voice still going in the background as he left.

Reaching his office, Griffin first shoved the paper with the number on it into his pocket then opened the door.

His actual office wasn't at this particular facility, but this was the one where he held all the meetings with the civilian arm of Umbrella. A few accountants and even the odd rookie inspector were some of the few that had walked through the doors and sat in the overstuffed leather chairs.

Now however a different type of person sat in the black leather chair, turning towards Griffin as he entered.

The woman was in her late thirties, with short red hair, pale yellow skin and a glare from blue eyes that could easily kill. She was dressed in a tight leather outfit, the kind that bikers wear; the silver zipper was the only thing visible on her perfectly shaped body.

She only nodded then raised an eyebrow, "You're late"

"Business I had to attend to Alice you know very well we had a little incident a couple of weeks ago" Griffin replied sitting down at his desk.

Hearing this Alice grinned wolfishly her white teeth peeking out from her tight lips, "The girl got free"

"Yes it is a shame but now Stage Two can progress, in a way we're lucky never will an opportunity like this arise ever again"

Alice suddenly glanced towards to black cordless phone on Griffin's desk, "You're going to get a phone call"

Sure enough after Alice spoke those words the phone rang.

Griffin still hadn't gotten used to the chimera's abilities even though he had designed Project Alice. Even though it was an absolute blessing that when the phone was about to ring Griffin would be told even before the call reached him. He didn't need to glance at the number to know who it was, nor did the user on the other end give any indication that there was someone there.

All Griffin needed to say were simple words, he knew that this phone call would come very soon, "Human specimen 8940 has escaped the Bluewater medical facility, Stage Two will now commence"

Hanging up the phone Griffin turned back to Alice, "We'll be moving to the Innisfail labs for the next step, there is nothing here for the moment"

Alice nodded her cold blue eyes carefully watching Griffin, "And the girl?"

"If we find the Winterstone girl between now and arriving at the labs, you may have a private session with her but only for an hour and nothing traumatic or permanent"

The grin on Alice's face only grew wider as she got up from the chair and walked across the room.

A giant dinosaur walked towards a cardboard city breathing fire and roaring while battling a large moth, then a flash and now a crocodile was swimming through murky water after a school a fish, another flash and there was a man in a glittery white suit on stage screaming into a microphone while others shouted and jumped up and down.

The two figures on the old battered leather couch watching a TV with bad reception still needed getting used to.

Jill and Carlos realised that the newest editions to their group were going to be permanent.

Walking into the kitchen carrying a laptop under her arm Jill glanced across to Carlos who was sitting in the corner on a stool sipping coffee from a large blue mug, "Is that all they're going to do?"

Carlos nodded, "I guess TV time at Umbrella wasn't that long"

"Has either one even moved yet?"

"Depends on what you mean by that, Alyssa has gotten up a few times but I think tall dark and loud has remained glued to the chair" Carlos replied.

Glancing across the room to where Alyssa and Nemesis sat seemed like a dream that never happened. It felt like only yesterday when they had met Alyssa covered in sweat in a hospital gown. The way that she'd climbed up the hill was nothing compared to her unlikely escort that refused to go away no matter what.

Jill had still felt uneasy having a monster that was responsible for so much pain in her life to be this close, yet there was something different about this Nemesis that set him apart from the others. _Besides I have to move on, past is past_ Jill thought even though she had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach every time Nemesis glanced at her with his green eyes. She half expected him to throw back his head and let out an earth-shattering roar before reaching forward to strangle her. But since such a thing like that hadn't happened yet Jill had allowed herself to relax slightly but not enough to trust the giant that now sat in the small living room watching tv.

There would always be tension between her and Nemesis it was just the way things were, a similar creature had almost killed her and even though she had left it to die on the cold cement floor of the water treatment plant part of that creature still lived on in Nemesis.

Carlos placed the empty cup in the sink and cleared the kitchen table, "You found something?"

Jill placed the laptop on the table and switched it on, "Just a few minutes ago a small news article caught my eye, it wasn't the sort that would normally attract a lot of attention media wise but it has that same feeling to it as the others"

Using the mouse Jill called up the internet history and then a page from the Courier Mail, a few pages from the front hidden beside a large article about the rise in bottled water prices there was a tiny paragraph.

The article didn't go into much detail being only a paragraph but it mentioned a mutilated body being found near a storm drain down at the marina in Innisfail. It also said that for a while all the water coming out of the drain had caused boils and rash like symptoms to anyone coming into contact with it. Although there weren't a lot of details to go on after reading it Carlos glanced at Jill.

"What does 'the map' say?" he asked.

'The map' had been given to Jill by the mysterious Mr Trent who had said he was an ally to their worthy cause despite the fact that he sometimes made strange and weird requests he was generally a good source of information about Umbrella's not so public activities. Trent had been with the rebels since the beginning and after the city of Racoon had been destroyed he had given Jill a disk containing all known whereabouts of the Umbrella labs worldwide. There were various maps on the disk highlighting the labs so they stuck out like Christmas lights.

Due to the fact that some of the more unknown research labs were set up in Australia Jill, Carlos and a few other members of the group had been sent there. According to Trent the research being conducted in the Australian labs was unlike anything that they had encountered before. Both now knew what Trent had meant, gentle giant monsters was something out of the ordinary even for Umbrella.

Although both Jill and Carlos had some degree of trust in Trent neither had told him about Alyssa and Nemesis, there were some things that were best kept secret. Who knew what would happen if Trent found out about the newest editions to the group? Perhaps he'd let it slide as he seemed to know everything about the company that he worked for or maybe there'd be a different reaction.

Jill called up the map and clicked on the section that showed Australia and highlighted Innisfail.

Sure enough there was a lab located on the outskirts of the town in the rainforest area beyond the now abandoned banana fields.

"Looks like those fields aren't so abandoned after all" Jill remarked.

It had all been over the news a few months ago; the surrounding fields of bananas were declared not only inedible but the cause for an outbreak of a new type of intestinal worm similar to the tape worm that lived inside the fruit. Many scoffed at the idea that had been put forward by the government, yet when the fences were put up, the properties abandoned and the farming equipment left to rust then the public took notice. It was under the penalty of six months in jail that kept even the most rebellious teens from crossing the electric barbed wire fences, the fields were left alone and no one said a thing about it.

Glancing at the screen Carlos nodded, "Still is it really that easy to find these labs?"

"Trent's never led us astray, the one in Sydney was easy to find"

"I guess so, but have you ever thought that he's only using us to do his dirty work? Trent can't exactly blow up an entire complex so he gets a group of renegades to do it instead"

Jill closed the laptop's screen, "Renegades now? That's a change normally we're called freedom fighters"

"I'm only saying" Carlos replied. "Hasn't it ever crossed your mind?"

"I don't know anymore Carlos, ever since a few weeks ago my worlds been turned around, nothing's the same and besides now we have a bit of a problem on out hands"

"What's that?"

Jill smiled, "Now we have to get a truck, I don't think Nemesis can fit inside the Land Cruiser"

Alyssa suddenly appeared in the small kitchen, neither had seen her walk in from the TV room. When arriving at the cabin the hospital gown she wore was burnt and now Alyssa wore a large baggy shirt with a snarling dingo on it saying Greeting from Fraser Island! While still not preferring to wear anything on her feet Jill had managed to convince Alyssa to wear blue ankle socks with white stars on them. The stars didn't get any reaction from Nemesis who either didn't care or didn't notice them. Finally Alyssa wore a pair of baggy jeans, her thin frame swimming in the clothes but she found it comfortable.

Both Jill and Carlos looked up when Alyssa entered.

"What's wrong?" Jill asked.

But they didn't get an answer from Alyssa as Nemesis growled.

"The TV, I'm on TV" Alyssa whispered.

All three went into the TV room; Carlos taking a seat on one of the chairs, Alyssa sat back on the sofa and Jill had no choice but to sit on the sofa as well next to Nemesis.

Ignoring her fear Jill stared at the screen and could understand why Alyssa was so upset.

An urgent news report had flashed on screen with a fast talking reporter, in the background behind the announcer was a mug shot of Alyssa.

Carlos reached for the remote and turned the volume up.

"Authorities today enter week four for the search of seventeen year old Alyssa Winterstone who was last seen at the Umbrella medical facility in Bluewater. She is described as having pale brown skin, long white hair, green eyes and also an unstable personality. She is the prime suspect in the murders of three male guards at the institute when she broke free from her room and escaped. All citizens are urged to be on the lookout for this girl and if spotted not to attempt to go near her but to contact their nearest police station"

After the report was over Carlos switched the TV off and threw the remote down, "They took their time in pasting Alyssa's face all over the media"

Beside Jill Nemesis growled softly in the back of his throat as if to agree.

"But it's a lie I didn't hurt anyone it was…" Alyssa cried out then stopped. "It was an accident that those people were hurt, Nemesis didn't mean to kill anyone"

Thinking about the Umbrella soldier's skull being crushed by Nemesis gave Jill chills up her spine, it was so easy for him to kill an enemy. It was the perfect excuse to stand up and face Alyssa.

"Listen Alyssa we all know you didn't do anything like that, believe me Carlos and I have had out fair share of our faces flashing up on the local news," Jill pointed out.

"But did they say you hurt others?" Alyssa asked.

"We've had worse stuff said about us then that, remember Jill and I fight against Umbrella, to them we're public enemy number one" Carlos replied.

"It looks like we'll all need disguises when we're out on the road now" Jill said.

Hearing this Alyssa looked up, "Why we're we going?"

"What we do best, clearing the air" Jill answered. "There's no turning back now"

One of Jill's 'contacts' in the trucking business was able to secure not only a small truck but also fake ID passes for the checkpoint just before Innisfail.

It had taken the group half the day to not only trek across the small mountain range but also avoid being spotted by passing motorists. Nemesis was the biggest problem to the group as he was much larger and could easily be seen. They had no choice but to stick to only the thickest part of the bushland when entering the outskirts of Rollingstone.

Jill went by herself to the petrol station where she met her contact simply known as Phil. Whether or not the truckie was actually called Phil or not wasn't a problem to Jill, she'd undertaken several aliases when entering Australia and also to buy the cabin near Bluewater.

As Phil was handing over the three fake IDs he failed to spot the large form that was moving in the background of the fading shadows, "I thought your group wasn't into trucks?"

Jill only smiled as she pocketed the cards, "The Land Cruiser is getting a bit obvious"

"So it's not drugs or water you're taking into Innisfail?"

"No of course not we just need the truck for cover that's all, you should know me by now Phil" Jill remarked. "It'll come back to you in the same condition as when you let me borrow it"

Phil only nodded then snorting he spat in the dirt and wiped his nose with a dirt encrusted hand, "Yeah see that it does otherwise my ass is out on the line as it is the blokes in the garage thought it was a bit weird that I checked this rig out"

Jill watched as Phil waddled off into the service station then motioned for the others to slowly move forward. She still couldn't believe how close it had been to Phil spotting the eight-foot tall giant that was only a few meters away from him. Had he turned and spotted Nemesis the conversation may've been very different. _Still all this trouble for one of Umbrella's monsters_ Jill thought as she climbed into the drivers seat _doesn't seem right in a way_.

Shaking the thought off Jill gunned the engine and shifted the truck so that the back was facing the scrub, away from the prying eyes of the public.

Getting out and opening up the back of the truck Jill saw that it was full of cardboard boxes containing engine parts. Groaning and pulling out her ID Jill saw that she was now called Mary Fuller and she worked for one of the smaller branches of the BP service stations specialising in truck engine parts.

As Alyssa, Carlos and Nemesis emerged from the shadows Jill turned to face them. She gave both Alyssa and Carlos their ID cards and then stepped into the back of the truck. Jill had no idea why she chose to move the boxes aside to make room for Nemesis, maybe it was to keep her mind sharp for the night's events, the fact was she had no idea the monster was as much as part of the team as anyone else now and teams stick together.

Looking at her ID card Alyssa almost laughed, she was called Melissa Courtridge and she was a trainee in the trucking business. _I feel like a spy _she thought _I've never had a different name before_.

Carlos on the other hand wasn't that thrilled that his new alias was Rodrigo Indigo, _Gee that name isn't obvious at all, why do I always get stuck with the weird sounding names?_

Jill jumped down from the back with a black duffle bag over her shoulder. When she noticed Carlos frowning she almost had to laugh, he'd gotten another strange sounding name again. "Come on Carlos, Phil didn't mean anything by choosing that name"

Carlos shoved the ID card in his pocket, "Yes I know that but I'm beginning to think it has something with my accent and my background you know what I mean?"

"My name sounds funny too but I don't care" Alyssa spoke up. "It kind of reminds me of a spy book I read once about a girl that solved crimes at a high school"

"Ok I think we've all heard enough about the ID cards" Jill said as she placed the duffel bag on the ground. "Phil was also kind enough to provide as with a few items that'll help us look like our pictures"

Alyssa saw on her card that she no longer had white hair; she had brown hair and blue eyes with a mole on her right cheek. _It's like looking at another me_ she thought _like an alternate side or something_. Alyssa didn't like brown hair but she really didn't have a choice as she took the canister from Jill and began to spray it onto her hair.

Glancing towards Nemesis Alyssa saw that he was standing stiff and tall, with one large hand resting on the chain gun keeping watch. He was also watching the Jill, Carlos and Alyssa slowly change from being themselves into entirely new people with some degree of amusement as they slipped into the overalls that came out of Jill's duffel bag.

When everyone had successfully changed Jill bundled up all the clothes they had worn when entering Rollingstone into the bag and zipped it shut. "We'll need these clothes later"

Carlos ran his right hand through his now red hair, "I think this stuff is making my scalp itch, why red?"

"Don't complain as much Carlos, that red hair of yours is going to get the rest of us through that checkpoint" Jill replied.

"Nemesis sure has it easier then us," Alyssa said. "He didn't need a disguise but shouldn't he have one I mean Nemesis doesn't fit in with us"

"Nemesis has a job to do just like us, his is to keep quiet in the back and not move around when we stop at the checkpoint. I've moved the boxes that Phil thoughtfully put inside the truck around so even if the back is opened up if Nemesis stays still there's a good chance he won't be seen" Jill explained.

Walking past Alyssa and Carlos Jill stood in front of Nemesis and locked eyes with the giant, "You hear me? Not a sound not even a growl or a yawn understand?"

The reaction that Jill got confirmed her thoughts that there was something different about the creature.

Nemesis nodded and then growled out a word that sounded like yes then went and stood beside the back of the truck.

Jill and Carlos were at first shocked when hearing Nemesis speak, the only word both knew that such a monster could say was 'stars' but 'yes' was something different altogether. Alyssa didn't seem fazed by the fact that Nemesis spoke in fact she was almost to a point antsy to get going.

Shaking her head Jill pointed to the inside of the truck and then to Nemesis, "You get in the back and try not to fidget too much, Carlos and Alyssa let's go we all sit in the front"

As Nemesis entered the back he was at first cautious of getting inside a confined space but with Alyssa's coaxing the monster was able to get inside. The truck suddenly sagged under the new weight being applied to it and both Jill and Carlos shot nervous looks at each other.

Then the truck righted itself and didn't give the appearance that an eight-foot tall genetically engineered creature was hiding in the back.

Carlos then waited until Jill and Alyssa were in the front before he reached up and pulled the roller door at the back of the truck down. Then wiping his hands on the overalls he wore Carlos started to walk to the front, "Indigo and special transport for monsters what a day" he muttered. "I liked it when things were simpler"

Both Jill and Carlos took turns driving along the dark road, dimming their high beams when other cars got too close.

Alyssa had curled up in the corner of the left hand side of the driver's cabin falling into a deep sleep.

Jill watched the sleeping Alyssa her thin body curled up like a cat, she looked so innocent and naive. _Kind of like Alice_ Jill thought. Though their meeting was a little different and Alice already knew about her abilities. Yet the final confrontation had happened in a jeep not in a truck, the jeep was travelling along the desert that used to be a city when the true nature of Alice was revealed.

Sitting back against the spongy seats Jill could recall that day so clearly as though it had happened yesterday, yet in reality it had happened five years ago.

The smart ass laughing L.J. was alive then so was the sweet Angie Ashford that kind of acted like Alyssa, innocent and unknowing.

The stolen black military issue jeep had just driven out of the dazzling metropolis after they had rescued Alice when disaster struck. Jill should have seen it coming but she was in the front seat with Carlos at the time. She thought there was something odd about Alice the moment that she got in the car; it was how she looked at Jill when asked how she was as the jeep drove off that was wrong.

_Not to mention the entire security force at the medical centre, all of us had had our faces plastered all over the tv surely they wouldn't of let us drive out of their without trouble_. Jill thought.

It was the first sign that neither Jill nor Carlos had picked up, they were still happy that despite the obstacles they had rescued a fellow survivor and friend from Umbrella.

The way that the next event unfolded was like a nightmare, L. J. was the first to go he was nearest to Alice when she suddenly snapped. L.J.'s neck was broken so fast that even he didn't know. Carlos had noticed the rapid movement in the back and heard Angie scream as Alice tried to grab her.

Jill could remember looking back to check on Angie only to see Alice ripping at her belt buckle like some animal and seeing her eyes, they were savage and filled with hate.

Carlos attempted to pull the jeep over but Alice had other ideas, she reached forward and grabbed the gear stick head butting Carlos aside.

The result was disastrous; the jeep veered off the road and ran over the remains of a rusted fire hydrant. The jeep had flipped a full 360 degrees up into the air before landing with a crash off the side of the road.

Sand and wind entered the upside down jeep as all the occupants struggled to get lose. Jill had turned around in her seat to see that Alice was still not free of her seat belt and was struggling towards Jill with murderous intent.

But that wasn't the worst; Angie was still conscious and was now crying out to Alice to stop.

Jill could still hear the poor girl's voice shouting out to a monster, "Please Alice you're our friend, why are you hurting us? Why did you kill Mister L.J.? Why?"

The words had no effect on Alice only that now she turned towards Angie and pushed her out of the jeep.

Jill was able to squeeze out from under the jeep but when she emerged it was too late.

Angie was lying in the sand not moving while Alice was advancing towards Carlos.

Jill cried out and ran towards Angie's still form, it was too late to save her. She would be later told that Angie was already dying due to the T-virus and internal injuries. But Jill knew it was Alice who was the true murderer.

Carlos had pulled out his magnum and was aiming it at the slowly advancing Alice who simply smirked as she strode towards her prey.

Alice moved so fast in the blinding sand it was impossible to see her. Soon however she had Carlos by the throat and twisted his hand that was holding the magnum.

Before Jill could do anything Alice suddenly jerked her head skywards and dropped to the ground screaming while holding her head.

Carlos dove for the magnum and managed to pick the weapon up and shoot the grounded Alice twice, once in the shoulder and the other in her right arm.

Slowly getting up Alice waved her hand in Carlos's direction, he went flying backwards then Alice turned towards Jill.

Instead of attacking Jill, Alice sprinted past her and ran back towards the direction they had just driven from.

Jill was suddenly broken out of her trance by Carlos who shouted something at her.

"Hey Jill, we're nearing the checkpoint want to start waking up?" Carlos said.

"Did we drive through Innisfail already?" Jill asked as she yawned.

"Yeah a few minutes ago to be precise, maybe you should wake Alyssa too before we get any closer"

Jill was already on it as she gently tapped Alyssa on the forehead, it was a technique that her mother used to do to Jill when she was young.

It worked just the same, Alyssa opened her eyes and sat up straight while yawning, "Are we there yet?"

"Couple more minutes and we will" Jill replied.

"What if it doesn't work out, what if they see who we are or worse look in the back?"

"Don't worry Alyssa everything's going to be ok once we pass through those large gates then we'll be safe, believe me Carlos and I have been through plenty of checkpoints before just stick with us and you'll be fine"

Alyssa nodded, "I was having the best dream, I dreamt that after all of this is done then I'm going to climb a mountain and build a house on top of it"

"Why would you want to build a house on top of a mountain?"

"So that Nemesis and I can live away from people, then no one would stare at us and we could be ourselves," Alyssa replied.

Jill had completely forgotten about Nemesis, no doubt sitting in the dark amongst cardboard boxes trying not to move. She hadn't even heard the giant stir at all in the back for the entire journey, she'd told him not to make a sound or move and that's exactly what Nemesis did. _That monster actually listened to me_ Jill thought.

Alyssa now stared out of the window her breath visible against the glass.

"You ever been through a check point before Alyssa?" Carlos asked.

Turning towards Carlos Alyssa shook her head, "I wasn't allowed to go outside when I was at the labs"

"Well it's not really hard, all you really have to do is follow the instructions of the people at the checkpoint and make sure you have your ID card" Carlos explained.

"And that you look like the picture on the card" Jill added. "We're lucky that it's a bit late at night, normally the guards and inspectors aren't as strict as the ones that work during the day so passing through should be breeze"

Sure enough Jill's predictions were right, as the truck drove through the blazing lights and under the metal tin roof of the shed the soldier that directed them off to the side had a tired posture.

He peered through the driver's side window, yawning while carefully inspecting them all before speaking, "Evening folks you got your IDs ready?"

Jill, Carlos and Alyssa all passed their cards to the tired looking soldier who scanned them with a small devise.

It only took a few seconds and then they were handed back.

"Rodrigo Indigo, man what were your parents smoking when they came up with that name?" the soldier asked grinning. "Were they hippies or something?"

"Excuse me?" Carlos asked pretending to be annoyed.

"Ahh never mind, you got anything in the back that needs declaring?"

"Nothing but engine parts in the back"

The soldier glanced down at his clipboard, "Doesn't say anything about freighter trucks coming through here at this hour for any company, ah what the hell I don't really care it's late and there's plenty of other cars that you're holding up I guess you're cleared to go"

As the soldier walked past another man dressed in a business suit came out of the small office and began yelling at the soldier.

Carlos glanced in the rear vision mirror, "Should we drive off?"

"Don't, it'd look suspicious and there's cameras everywhere" Jill replied.

"Cameras!" Alyssa cried out. "What if they see us?"

The man in the business suit appeared at the driver's side door suddenly, cutting Alyssa off with a gasp. He peered at them with a steely glare while shinning a small torch through the cabin, "Everything ok in there folks?"

Jill acted her part changing her voice to a don't-really-care tone, "What's the hold up mister man sir? We gotta deliver this shipment before eleven tonight it ain't doing us much good if we're just sitting here, truck ain't running I don't get paid"

Mr Business suit ignored the outburst and turned to Carlos while shinning the torch in his face, "What about you hmm? Or are you just the silent type?"

Carlos also put on a convincing performance, squinting at the light in his face he slammed his hands on the wheel, "I just get paid to drive the freaking truck man, gotta be kept in check by supervisors insult to my confidence because I have a trainee you know have to keep up appearances, boss thinks I'm a whacked out junkie!"

"Yes well, why didn't you give permission for the back to be opened up?"

"Heck if I know maybe you should take it up with sleepy George over there!" Carlos cried out in his Native American accent. "He could tell you why maybe he will once we're out of your way"

By now two more soldiers had come up behind Mr Business suit who only nodded and waved them off.

"Well if you haven't heard Mr Indigo any truck that enters though the checkpoint must be inspected regardless if there's anything inside there or not" Mr Business suit said putting emphasis on Carlos's fake name as though he knew it couldn't be real.

Carlos sighed nosily, "Fine go ahead, knock yourself out but there ain't nothing back there but boxes"

"We'll be the judges of that" Mr Business suit replied as he walked around the back.

When Alyssa heard the back slide up she breathed in sharply, "They won't find Nemesis in there will they?"

Jill was peering through the rear vision mirror, "The good news is that they haven't got flashlights let's just hope that Nemesis is very good at hiding and keeping still"

A few moments later the back roller door was slid down and locked.

Mr Business suit once again appeared at the door, the tension of the whole inspection was so thick a knife could cut through it, "You're cleared, just remember one thing though always declare that you have items in the back if you're driving a truck please"

"Oh yeah sure whatever" Carlos mumbled. Then waited until Mr Business suit had taken a few more steps to mutter, "Arsehole"

As the truck drove out of the checkpoint both Jill and Alyssa had to wonder whether the last remark made by Carlos was for his character's sake or because he was just plain angry, neither asked.

When arriving near the abandoned fields it was decided to leave the truck in the heavily forested area, that way it couldn't be spotted by any curious passer-bys.

Doing the same thing when travelling to Rollingstone the group kept out of sight and used the tall grass and trees to their advantage.

Stopping opposite the fields Jill took out her night vision binoculars and peered through them, "The fences are taller then when I last saw them"

"How long have you and Carlos been here?" Alyssa asked.

"For a few months, we were a bigger group after Racoon, then we all went our separate ways, those fences were a lot shorter and weren't electrified when we drove past them"

"How can you tell that they're electrified?"

"The signs and also the buzzing sound is a dead giveaway, didn't they have those things where you were?"

Alyssa shook her head, "The fences I climbed over weren't electric or maybe they were I couldn't tell"

Alyssa's remark gave Jill a chill, _If Alyssa's capable of climbing over a thousand-watt fence without feeling a thing who knows what else she's able to do_.

"That's not the only thing that's changed" Carlos said pointing. "Look up on top of the first metal pole"

The small square lump sitting on the fence could first be mistaken for a metal cap but as it slowly turned towards the road did they all see it was a security camera.

"Must be pretty valuable those rusty tractors and weedy fields to have cameras" Carlos remarked.

"Can they see us from here?" Alyssa asked.

"No they can't, they seem to only swing around so far then turn back, we can use that blind spot to our advantage" Jill replied. Then she turned to face the others, "Ok on the count of three we run as fast we can across the street and to that second fence pole"

"What about the electric fence?"

Jill patted her black duffel bag and smiled, "Like I said Alyssa you stick with us and you'll be fine"

All watched with baited breath as the camera slowly swung to the right and then on Jill's signal they all began to run across the bitumen road. Alyssa easily kept up with Jill and Carlos while Nemesis lopped behind him, his weapons rattling against his body.

Reaching the fence line all four threw themselves behind the small bushes as the camera swept over them.

Again Jill had second thoughts about dragging not only Alyssa along but Nemesis too, _Would've been a heck of a lot easier if Nemesis had of stayed in the truck, he'll give us away the moment we step one foot into that field_. Peering through the fence Jill knew that the overgrown field would give the group plenty of cover including enough tree line to make an eight-foot tall monster invisible.

Carlos was already working on the fence; he took a small silver mobile phone sized device and carefully attached it to the wire.

Jill watched Alyssa's puzzled expression as Carlos did this, "That thing on the fence temporarily shuts down a small part of the electric current, which will allow Carlos to cut through it without being burnt to a crisp"

Alyssa only nodded and watched as Carlos began to cut through the wire.

Suddenly a loud truck horn sounded off a few miles away and the large high beams bounced across the road.

Carlos glanced up and said something that sounded like a curse word in Spanish. Jill had a different reaction to the oncoming vehicle.

"Everyone get down!" she called out.

Alyssa, Carlos and Jill slipped behind the bushes while Nemesis crouched down in the shadows to avoid the truck as it passed.

Once the truck was gone the group all stood up and Carlos resumed work on the fence, "I thought this part of the road didn't allow heavy traffic through"

Before Jill could reply a helicopter passed over the group, catching them off guard.

"Shit! Now what?" Jill groaned.

The 'copter had seemingly appeared out of no where, no one had either seen or heard it coming, not even Nemesis. The only good thing about the silent helicopter was that it showed no signs of having spotted the group as it flew over the fields, its bright searchlight lighting up the forest below it.

Seeing the helicopter appear suddenly caused Nemesis to growl and his right hand went to the rocket launcher, instinctively squeezing the handle of the weapon.

Both Jill and Carlos went stiff when they saw Nemesis's reaction to the helicopter, if he fired and hit the 'copter then their cover would be blown.

Fortunately Nemesis must've realized this too and loosened his grip on the weapon.

Letting out a sigh of relief Jill turned back to Carlos, "How much time left?"

"Three more minutes" Carlos replied as he clipped the last part of the fence.

Taking the silver device off the fence and slipping it into his vests pocket Carlos then pulled at the cut part aside, "Ladies and mutants first" he said grinning.

Once inside all four ran swiftly and quietly through the overgrown banana field, moving out of the road when a branch rose up in front of them.

When the helicopter flew over them all stopped and waited until it had passed before moving again.

Reaching the end of the field they were met with a strange yet familiar sight.

The white walled buildings with dark tinted windows rose up over the fields like pale square stalks. Around the facility was a 'ring' of forest connecting to the abandoned fields.

"Well that's the reason for the security cameras" Jill whispered. "And the restricted air space"

"But the cameras out the front would be nothing to keep people away surely there would be patrols" Carlos replied. "I'm guessing no one's ever gotten this far before"

The silent 'copter flew over the group again and circled the entire facility before landing in a large well lit area.

"Something's happening down there" Alyssa said pointing.

Sure enough a large semi trailer drove out of the shadows and into the lit area not far from where the helicopter had landed. The doors to the truck opened and several men wearing white bio hazard suits stepped out followed by a larger cylinder shaped container that was rolled out behind them.

The white suited men then began to walk towards one of the large tall buildings while others began to roll the capsule down the walkway.

Alyssa could sense something wasn't right with that strange shaped box that had come out of the truck. _It feels cold and dark like there isn't anything inside it_ she thought.

Jill in the meantime had gotten out a small camera and began to take a few shots of the unusual sight, "Get ready to make a run for it"

Carlos only nodded but Alyssa was confused what did Jill mean by getting ready to run?

Shouting voices not too far away made Alyssa turn towards the sound, "There's someone coming"

"Just as I thought" Jill said. "Let's go, I thought those flashes would be seen"

As the yelling voices came closer the group all split up and went their separate ways, including Alyssa and Nemesis who were forced to flee into the darkened forest by themselves.

While running towards the buildings Alyssa wondered how Jill knew that the men in the jeep was coming? Only she had heard the roar of the engine not Jill.

With her legs carrying her over the upturned roots of trees Alyssa shook the thought off and concentrated on running.

When first arriving at the Innisfail labs Griffin was a bit disappointed that the lack of specimens were still kept in stasis. Although there were the remains of Project Conscious they weren't scheduled to be dissected and disposed of until next week.

Even thinking about that waste of a time project made Griffin angry, all those man-hours being put into a stupid theory that had been in operation for only ten years.

It wasn't a total loss to Griffin, a few hours after arriving at the labs via a private helicopter he'd gotten reports of a disturbance out in the fields. The majority of the time it was youths that had somehow managed to scale the tall fence, but they never got beyond the fence line before being found by the patrols.

Ever since the new electric fence had been put in however all interference from the farming town had been cut down significantly. In fact no one was able to enter the perimeter without receiving a nasty shock.

Griffin listened to the patrol leader rant on about a suspected perimeter breach and how a small squad had been deployed to inspect. What they found were four sets of footprints, one set was larger then the other three.

"Whoever it is must wear large shoes, these boot prints are huge!" the squad leader said.

That was when Griffin sat up and took notice, hearing what the solider said made him smile, _So they have come back and if that dim witted beast is here so is the Winterstone girl_.

Turning around to face Alice who was leaning against the wall Griffin kept his calm smile "Looks like you will get your session Alice"

Alice could only nod back and smile cruelly.

Alyssa tore through the undergrowth, the shouting voices right behind her. Running through the thick forest of weeds and trunks reminded her of when she escaped back at Bluewater. _That was only a few weeks ago_ she thought _now it's happening all over again_.

As she ran down a small grassy hill Alyssa was aware that she was no longer in the forest and was instead out in the open.

The cool night air stung Alyssa's lungs as she began to take in deep breaths, ignoring the shaking that was coming from either fear or excitement. Luckily none of the large searchlights surrounding the facility had come on yet allowing Alyssa to slip into the shadows again.

Coming to a steel wall confused Alyssa; she had no idea where she was going or what she was supposed to do. Jill had told her that they all stick together, but so far the group was broken up and running through a darkened field while being chased by who knows how many soldiers.

Slowing her sprinting to a jog then a slow run Alyssa followed the steel wall around, hoping that it didn't lead to an open area. Being spotted by guards was the least of Alyssa's worries. _I sure hope Nemesis and the others are ok_ she thought. But the silver cylinder that had come out of the truck still stayed in Alyssa's mind, it wasn't the fact that she wanted to know what was inside only that it scared her. She had sensed something evil inside that container, something wrong, not as bad as Griffin but just as cold and unfeeling.

Because Alyssa was so wrapped up in her thoughts she almost missed the silver door on the side of the metal wall.

Turning the knob and walking inside Alyssa saw that she was in some kind of containment area with lots of cages on the sides of the walls.

Stepping inside movement right down the back room caught her eye. As Alyssa walked down the back of the room she was met with a disturbing sight.

The creatures in the cages looked like people had they been crossed with a dinosaur. The six creatures had green brown-scaled skin, with large muscly arms and torsos. They stood on two strong-clawed feet and their hands had lethal talons that scraped the floor. Their flat heads still retained human like features although now they had yellow reptilian eyes, two slits for a nose and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

But it wasn't the monsters themselves that scared Alyssa it was what was being done to them.

Each had long transparent tubes attached to their arms, legs and back, there seemed to be something that was either being pumped out or into the animals. They also wore heavy metal collars around their necks that had thin wires coming out of them.

As Alyssa walked up to the cages the largest of the six creatures growled at her and beared its teeth, it stared back at her with its yellow eyes. It tried to walk up to the cage but instead was stopped by the tubes that were in its body.

Alyssa couldn't bear seeing these poor animals suffer; she could almost feel their pain. Walking around the cages Alyssa began to search for a switch that would open the cages, instead she found a clipboard thick with papers.

Picking it up Alyssa flicked through it hoping to find something useful. She only found reports on the six creatures that were nicknamed Hunters and that Griffin had ordered them to be destroyed. Seeing Griffin's handwriting on the termination papers almost made Alyssa drop the clipboard with disgust until she noticed another smaller report with a picture of a swallowtail butterfly. She instantly knew what the butterfly meant; _It's my special butterfly_ Alyssa thought _the one that father and I share_.

Before her father had gone away he had told Alyssa that there were friends he'd left behind that would protect her. _All you have to do is look for the butterfly Alyssa_ her father had said _you will know who your friends are_.

Alyssa knew that this was true; when she found Nemesis he'd had a swallowtail butterfly on the tank he was in, now it seems that these Hunters were her father's creations too.

Turning back towards the Hunters, Alyssa noticed that the largest one was watching her.

Placing the clipboard down Alyssa spotted a large control panel, "Don't worry I'll help you all out" she said as she walked over towards it.

Jill knew that Alyssa had heard the approach of the guards; it was just like being with Alice when they were in Racoon City. Plenty of times Alice had picked up the approach of an enemy even before the rest of the group did.

Suddenly the forest thinned out and Jill was stuck out in the open. Turning back to the field she could see the flashlights and hear shouting voices of the men. At first Jill thought that she should turn back and go back in to help the others. _What if they're already inside the buildings?_ She thought, then again of she did go back into the fields she'd run the chance of being captured.

As Jill turned towards the buildings she heard a familiar roar, she half expected to see Nemesis explode out of the forest, chain gun blazing at his pursuers but nothing like that happened.

Nemesis did appear but he was too far away to see Jill, his massive strides carried him down the hill and across the field. Nemesis had obviously picked up something or maybe he was just running away from the soldiers, Jill didn't really know.

Spotting an open door to the side of one of the buildings Jill went in. Her surroundings changed from the brisk night air of the fields to a corridor of doors. As Jill took a step towards the first door she heard footsteps behind her.

Turning around she saw it was Carlos who appeared out of breath and with sweat streaming down his face.

"Don't do that!" Jill said harshly "I thought that you were a guard"

Carlos only grinned despite the situation they were in; "I guess we all made it then"

Glancing up at the small security camera mounted in the corner Jill slowly walked around it, "Let's hope that Alyssa and Nemesis were able to get past the fields and not do anything stupid"

"Have you seen either one?"

"Before when I came in here I saw Nemesis come out of the fields, he was too far away from me but I'm guessing by the way he ran off so fast he must've found Alyssa" Jill replied.

Walking down the corridor both saw that there wasn't really anything useful behind the unopened doors. It wasn't until they saw a door labelled Record Room that grabbed their attention.

Jill tried the doorknob but found it was locked, "No surprise there"

"But why would Umbrella hide all their top secret documents in the most obvious place?" Carlos asked. "Why not in a basement or locked safes?"

Getting out her lock pick Jill began to work on the lock, "Because to the inspectors that's the most obvious place to look"

The door suddenly swung open and the pair stepped into a small dimly lit room. Before either could go in they heard the sound of running feet coming down the hallway.

Not wanting to take any chances both Jill and Carlos stepped inside the room and closed the door. Jill then listened against the closed door waiting for whomever it was to pass.

The clicking of guns and body armour outside made both Carlos and Jill glad that they'd chosen to hide in the room.

"Have you checked all the fields?" a gruff male voice asked.

"Yes and Dr Griffin thinks that they may've somehow gotten inside" another voice replied. "How is that possible?"

"They can't of gone too far, this place is a maze they'll easily get lost"

"What about that Nemesis monster? What if we run into it?"

A sound of a gun being loaded was heard, "To hell with what Griffin says about not shooting it, if that freak comes at me I'm going to blow it to hell, we could get rid of them together know what I mean?"

Jill didn't hear the last remark as the soldiers ran off but she had to groan at what was said. _Even Umbrella's goons figured out that we'd be easy targets if Nemesis stuck with us_.

"Take a look at this Jill" Carlos called out.

Jill turned around to see Carlos holding a green file "Is it something about the body in the storm drains?"

"Even better, you know that Griffin we keep hearing about? Get this he's a head researcher in Umbrella's neurological department. It says that he believes the only way to get complete loyalty from a soldier is to place a chip inside their head" Carlos said as he glanced down at the file.

Jill felt disgusted at hearing this, "No wonder Alyssa and Nemesis hate him, he's a total nutcase, but then again that seems to be a job requirement when you work at Umbrella"

"That's not the worst bit, according to this he was also in charge of one of the first brain chip control experiments called Project Alice"

Taking the folder from Carlos's hands Jill saw that it was an employee profile, Griffin's it seems had been started years ago, only his most recent achievements were placed on top. Jill also saw the face of the scientist and it gave her the creeps.

The small head shot of Griffin had him staring straight at the camera as though he knew that one day he would be staring at a group of renegades come to destroy his work. Griffin had piercing blue eyes, pale olive coloured skin and short light grey blonde hair. The way that Griffin smiled was cruel and cold; this was the face of not only a monster but also a mad man. _And I thought monsters like Nemesis were evil_ Jill thought _at least in a way they had no choice when they killed, but this Dr Griffin_…

Carlos had now moved on and was looking through several reports, "Nothing useful here just garbage disposal and…hello what's this"

Placing the folder down Jill looked up as Carlos came over to her, "Check this out it seems the good doctor has been a bit busy"

Sure enough hidden within the boring files and reports about waste management was a section on the disposal of a different type of garbage written and signed by Griffin.

_When infected specimens have expired they must be disposed of immediately via the garbage chutes. The left one must be used for both human and animal specimen disposal and will allow complete destruction of not only the bodies but also any surviving virus strains. It must be noted to never open the right chute as it connects to the sewer system, if in the event that this happens the closest supervisor should be contacted immediately. _

"So that's what happened," Jill breathed. "An infected body got mixed up in the tunnels and ended up at the marina"

"But no one was infected by it" Carlos said. "I guess it wasn't a virus carrier then"

"Maybe a different type of virus, a hybrid perhaps? The article said people who went near the water where the body was found suffered from blisters and boils"

Just thinking about what Umbrella was doing with both strains of the virus was disturbing enough, now it seems they wanted to create hybrid versions of the viruses. Who only knew what kind of mutant offspring would be produced when marrying the two strains together.

_Alyssa said she carried both strains and she seemed ok_ Jill thought. But she knew that Alyssa had to have been a fluke as by the looks of things it was impossible to reproduce another being capable of carrying the T/G virus.

"Still not enough evidence to give to our media contacts" Jill said with a pang of disappointment. "What a shame"

"Hey look on the bright side at least we know what the head creep looks like around here" Carlos replied winking. "That's a good constellation prize"

Suddenly alarms sounded and down the hallway came the sound of several pairs of light feet running.

"Looks like its time to go" Carlos said.

"What's the bet that it was Nemesis?" Jill remarked. "He can't blend in very good in a setting like this"

Carlos turned the doorknob, "You never know it may have been one of the soldiers"

As both stepped outside six green shapes came running towards them, growling and snarling.

Looking up Jill and Carlos saw that they were Hunters, but it was too late to react as the creatures came hurtling towards them.

"Oh shit!" Jill cried out.

But instead of attacking the pair all six Hunters ran past them not even noticing Jill or Carlos as they lopped across the carpet. With the exception of the largest Hunter stopping for a few seconds to look at them, the creature then roared loudly and ran off after the others.

"What just happened?" Carlos asked. "Weren't they supposed to attack us or something?"

Jill couldn't understand either, of all the Hunters she'd encountered the ones she just saw were the strangest, "I don't know maybe they just wanted to escape"

"I think we should do the same too," Carlos said.

Both quickly ran down the corridor and back through the open door leading out into the fields hoping that somehow Alyssa and Nemesis were outside as well.

By the time Nemesis had caught up Alyssa she was busy fighting off several armed men wearing black body armour.

Alyssa moved perfectly in time to the on sought of the soldier's barrage of fists. Suddenly Alyssa tripped and almost fell over, one of the remaining men saw this and attempted to catch her off guard by using the barrel of his gun to hit her to the ground. Fortunately Alyssa saw this and kicked his feet out from under him.

Only two soldiers were left and they began to circle Alyssa like two wolves, waiting for her next move.

But it was Nemesis who made the final move, roaring loudly he ran forward and hit the two men out of the road. One was able to recover and pointed his gun at the approaching giant. Nemesis only responded by dashing the soldier into the wall and delivering a lethal uppercut with his right hand that would've no doubt killed the man.

Alyssa felt a little dizzy after the fight and also she could hear a buzzing sensation in her head, she had completely forgotten about what Nemesis did to the men and now focused on the terrible noise that she could hear. Alyssa knew what that buzzing sound meant and immediately turned towards Nemesis.

"We have to go back the way we came" Alyssa said.

Nemesis only grunted and began following Alyssa back down the hallway.

After a few steps, alarms began to sound, no doubt set off by security. Looking up Alyssa saw a small camera sitting in one of the corners of the ceiling. Ignoring it both ran past and out into the shed and through the door that Alyssa had come through.

Outside in the cold night air the large searchlights had now turned on and were combing the grassy field and the bridging forest.

Hearing her name being called out Alyssa turned to see Jill and Carlos running up to her.

"We have to go now," Jill shouted over the loud alarms.

Alyssa only glanced around, where were the Hunters? Surly they would've gotten outside too? "Not yet, the Hunters aren't outside"

"You freed those things," Carlos asked. "Why?"

Before Alyssa could answer the silent 'copter flew over the group it's search light illuminating them.

"Stop where you are or we will open fire!" the voice shouted at them.

Nemesis roared at the helicopter while reaching for his chain gun. Alyssa stopped him and shook her head, "Not yet, wait until we get to the field"

Then the group ran despite hearing the sound of bullets hitting the ground behind them.

A loud roar sounded and six dark shapes cut down the soldiers that were coming out of the hanger. They then sprinted into the surrounding fields as the searchlights followed them.

The helicopter hadn't been driven back by the new threat of the escaped Hunters and concentrated on pursing the group of four across the grassy field and into the forest.

Entering the forest Nemesis turned towards the helicopter and unhooked his chain gun.

As the 'copter came closer he began to pepper the sides with a barrage of bullets. The large machine couldn't manoeuvre properly to escape the sudden unsought of gunfire and crashed into the field in a massive fireball.

The six Hunters had caught up to the group and were now tearing through the forest in an effort to lose any pursuers.

Alyssa saw this and smiled, _They made it_. Calling out to Nemesis the pair then disappeared into the dense undergrowth away from the lights though not before the largest Hunter looked directly at Nemesis.

The two creatures only stared back at each other for a few moments, but it was clear there was an air of respect that both had for each other. The Hunter then nodded towards Nemesis and ran off after his group.

The cameras didn't lie, what Griffin had seen was the truth; the rebels had somehow managed to gain the trust of not only the Winterstone girl but also the Nemesis unit. They had guided the rebels inside and were helping in the destruction of the labs by the looks of things.

Griffin watched the black and white images with a mixture of excitement and disgust. Both the male and female rebels had somehow met back up after being hunted through the fields and had located the Record Room while evading the best teams the facility had.

_Those fools ran past the rooms without looking inside it!_ Griffin was pissed at the fact that this had happened and made a note to remember those two incompetents the next time he was looking for a human base for medical research.

A few moments later alarms had sounded, either pushed by a guard or….

Griffin flicked the switches for the set of cameras on that connected to the containment area. As the camera panned over the last six cages at the back he saw that they no longer held the Hunters, they were empty.

Furious Griffin slammed his left hand on the desk, _Those sneaky rebel bastards! What were they thinking?_ There were plenty of things that Griffin could've screamed out loud at that moment, but he calmed himself down and swung around in his leather-backed chair.

In the corner of the room as always stood Alice, she had her arms folded and cocked her head to one side when Griffin spoke to her.

"Get rid of those Hunters, don't let them reach the front gate alive, if you find the two rebels do what you want with them, I don't care, just make sure they die understand?"

Alice nodded, "What of the girl and the creature?"

"Make sure they are still alive, disable them if you must but don't kill them" Griffin said.

When the soldiers in the facility heard Alice approach they moved aside, she could sense fear in them as she ran past them and tore across the field.

As Alice entered the field she was hit with an array of scents mostly the dirt and trees but the faint aroma of something else, it was much closer to Alice then the Hunters. _Maybe later_ she thought.

Locating the Hunters was easy; taking them out was a different matter. The first two dodged her attacks both physically and mentally. Another attempted to throw Alice off guard by ramming her with its tough scaly shoulder and fainting right when she tried to hit it.

Alice could sense the Winterstone girl's scent was getting thinner, which meant she was getting further away.

Jumping to one side Alice was through with playing with the Hunters she wanted to catch up to Alyssa and test her abilities while she had the chance.

The Hunters all bunched together as a group with the largest in the centre, snarling as Alice slowly removed her twin samurai blades. Guns would be useless against the Hunters but swords were another thing altogether.

As the Hunters circled Alice, she lashed out at the first one, her blade swiping across its throat. The creature fell back screaming as dark red blood sprayed from its open wound. Another came from the side but in one clean swipe the Hunter fell down minus its legs.

The Hunters parted and made a new formation and attacked from the sides using the surrounding trees to their advantage. The largest did hit Alice in her left side with his claws, which succeeded in opening a large gash wound. Alice responded by cutting into the Hunter's exposed torso and right arm.

Jumping over the Hunters with ease Alice quickly rammed her swords into the small flat heads of two others killing them instantly before turning to face the remaining pair. But both had disappeared into the darkness, they had realized that this battle could not be won.

Hearing another cry Alice turned towards the sound, she knew it very well, it was the Nemesis creature and Alyssa would no doubt be close to it. Smiling to herself Alice began to run through the darkened field, the Hunters would have to wait; there was an opportunity she couldn't afford to miss.

Alyssa could feel the buzzing in her head getting louder and louder almost to the point of being high pitched.

Jill and Carlos were too busy trying to find the hole that they had gotten through to notice Alyssa's plight, but Nemesis did.

When Alyssa fell down into the dirt clutching her head and screaming in agony Nemesis roared loudly making Jill and Carlos turn around.

"She's coming!" Alyssa said through gritted teeth. "I can sense her"

"Who is?" Jill asked.

Alyssa looked up at Jill with fear in her eyes, "Alice, she's coming" then she fell back down onto the ground screaming in pain.

Hearing the name mentioned temporality froze both Jill and Carlos, if Alice was here it meant bad news.

_We wouldn't stand a chance against her_ Jill thought _even Nemesis wouldn't be able to fight back_. Jill could remember how easy it was for Alice to defeat a creature like Nemesis, she moved so fast.

Picking Alyssa up off the ground Jill steadied her, "It's going to be alright, we're getting out of here"

Suddenly out from the bushes exploded two of the Hunters, both were badly hurt with large bleeding slashes on their bodies.

Nemesis only growled at them, but made no attempt to fight, for the moment they posed no threat to the group.

Carlos waved the others over, "I found it, let's go!"

As they all began to run towards the fence, Jill noticed the Hunters were following them; she had no idea why though. Jill and Alyssa exited through the fence first, then Nemesis and lastly Carlos. The Hunters both stood on the other side looking confused and ready to collapse.

There was a metal ping and suddenly a thin sword stuck out of one of the Hunters, the largest one turned and roared as Alice calmly walked out of the field.

Alyssa shouted something out but neither Jill nor Carlos heard they only saw Alice coming towards the fence holding a bloodstained sword.

The largest Hunter was now slashing at the fence in an attempt to get away from his tormentor. He couldn't find the opening that the others had come through.

As Alice calmly bent forward to pull her sword from the corpse of the Hunter, Alyssa suddenly shot forward. She not only managed to squeeze back through the fence and pull the Hunter out but she also evaded a lethal sword swipe from Alice.

Glaring at the group Alice got ready to jump as she took a running leap Nemesis suddenly opened fire with his chain gun throwing her off balance. Knowing that her prey had escaped Alice gripped the electric fence with her right hand.

The smell of burnt flesh was enough to make Alyssa sick but it was the grinning face of Alice while doing this that made Alyssa more disturbed. It looked like she'd purposely grabbed the fence and was now enjoying being electrocuted, and it appeared that Alice was getting a kick out of scaring the group too.

The Hunter was transferred to Nemesis who cradled the creature in his massive arms like a small child. By now the Hunter was too weak to object and didn't move as the group ran following the fence line trying to blot out the events of the night.

Watching the group of cowards run pleased Alice, she'd wanted a better reaction from Alyssa but the girl would at least be disturbed by what happened in the fields. Letting go of the fence Alice examined her hand, the palm and fingers were burnt black but already the flesh and red muscles were starting to grow back.

Sheathing her swords Alice walked back through the field, although she was disappointed that she hadn't seen Alyssa's abilities she'd seen enough to know that the girl was no threat, not yet any way. _This was only a test the next time we meet there will be no distractions_. Ignoring the bright searchlights Alice walked slowly back to the labs, her mission had been completed and Griffin would be proud.

There was no need to pass through the checkpoint when exiting Innisfail, had the truck been inspected they would of found a bleeding Hunter lying on the wooden floor being watched over by a black clad giant. The floor of the truck would no doubt be covered in blood of the Hunter but it could be easily washed out.

Jill, Alyssa and Carlos were silent for the entire journey back, they didn't want to speak of what they had seen both in and out of the field, but it didn't stop their thoughts.

Alyssa's reaction towards Alice had confused Jill, _How did Alyssa know about Alice? And what was up with her screaming?_ No doubt when Alyssa was in the Bluewater facility she'd been paid visits by Alice who had obviously done something to the girl. Yet it was what Alice did not only to herself but to the Hunters that scared Jill most of all, those feral cold eyes filled with rage expressed no emotion while killing the creatures.

Alyssa on the other hand was not only close to tears but she was still very dizzy after the ordeal with Alice. _I could only save one_ she thought _if only I was there before Alice got to them there might be more alive_. As it was the largest Hunter didn't look too healthy, by the time they had reached the truck Nemesis was covered in the Hunter's blood. It didn't look good for the last survivor; there was a chance the Hunter would die before they reached the cabin.

Carlos tried to concentrate on driving but he too was thinking about why Alyssa had screamed before Alice appeared. It reminded him of when Alice was about to kill him in the desert but stopped and dropped to her knees screaming and holding her head. _Alyssa was different though, a chip may've called Alice in her head but Alyssa could sense the approach of Alice_. It had nothing to do with satellites or implants; this seemed like a direct attack on Alyssa's head then anything else, a reaction to a strong powerful psychic force. Whatever the cause was would remain a mystery until Alyssa explained it to both Jill and Carlos.

The truck pulled up along side the cabin and all three got out from the cabin and walked to the back.

Jill was still concerned about the Hunter; she'd seen these creatures many times and knew for a fact that they were lethal killers. As Carlos opened up the back Jill squeezed her magnum anticipating an attack from the wounded creature.

Instead the Hunter jumped out of the back and landed on two rubbery feet, turning and staring at the group the Hunter then limped off into the darkness clutching the side where it had been cut with his left taloned hand.

Alyssa stared off after the Hunter with a faint smile, "I think he'll be called Deception"

"Why Deception?" Carlos asked.

"I don't know" Alyssa said shrugging as she walked off. "It suits him"

The first rays of sunlight were starting to creep across the valley signalling the end of the night.

All four entered the cabin together; they were a team despite their differences both in thoughts and species and that's all there was to it.

The Hunter ran long into the morning before stopping at a small creek, his first thoughts were to cross it, but looking down and seeing the smooth white creek stones gave him an idea. Picking up as many of the stones in his arms the Hunter carried them to a small clearing.

There under a large blue gum the creature began to dig, he kept at it until the hole was two feet deep. Picking up the stones the Hunter carefully placed them in the hole until they had filled it.

Standing back to look at the hole the Hunter knew that more needed to be dug, four more for the others. He couldn't stand the emotions that he was feeling, loss and sadness, the Hunter knew the men in white suits were to blame for what he'd become.

Standing beside the stone grave the Hunter threw back his head and roared at the blue sky, he swore vengeance to not only track down those that created him but also the corporation that designed and paid those to give him life. He would not rest until they were all dead like those that had fallen in battle protecting him, the Hunter would have his revenge.

The fight continues…

47


End file.
